Author Topic: Modding my new down mountain parka  (Read 1479 times)

Litehiker

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
Modding my new down mountain parka
« on: 02:54:57, 25/02/19 »
After freezing my derrière of last winter on a chairlift at Mammoth Mountain, California I realized my light down jacket under my eVent parkways not cutting it.


So this month (Feb.) I bought an Eddie Bauer PEAK XV fully baffled down expedition/belay parka at the amazing sale price of US $299. with free shipping. It is "helmet compatible" and fits nicely over my ski helmet. I think it is nearly the same as the Patagonia Fitz Roy at $100.+ less.


However, the Patagucci Fitz Roy and even more spendy Grade VII parkas both have a very nice solution to internal zipper baffles, namely two baffles, one on each side of the zipper.


So... Looking at the barely insulated (with Thinsulate), flat zipper baffle on my EB PEAK XV parka I decided to fix it. I bought some 800 fill, DWR treated down, seam ripped the 1" top of the baffle and, using a kitchen funnel and meter long rod, and stuffed that sucker until it was fat.


Now to buy some nylon twill and have a tailor sew another baffle, then sew it to the left side of the zipper. I'll fill it with down as well and have my double zipper baffles. Problem solved. And I'll have a cozier winter "camp" parka for backcountry ski camping in Nevada.


Finally I'll take the beautiful coyote fur ruff I got in January, sew a stiff backing on it with a Velcro strip and the mating strip sewn on my hood. Then I'll have a very nice, removable ruff that I can flip forward for a "breathing tunnel" in extreme weather. 
BTW, PEAK XV, as some of you may know, is the first name of Mt. Everest, as the British surveying team named it.


Do any of you mod your gear?    It's become a hobby for me over the years.


Eric B.

jimbob

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2503
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #1 on: 10:11:12, 25/02/19 »
Mrs  Jimbob states categorically that if you pack down too tight you stop it from being a decent insulator as if too tightly crammed there are no air spaces, which is the important bit.
Too little, too late, too bad......

Litehiker

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #2 on: 23:48:40, 25/02/19 »
jumbob, (You sure, with a name like that, you ain't a Good Ol' Boy from Alabama? Tennessee? Georgia?)


Yeah, I tried to not pack the down too tightly but it was not possible to manipulate it much. Over an hour of trying to move it around I did even out any particularly hard packed spots with some manipulation but "It is what it is." I think it is at least much more insulative and wind blocking that it was originally.


Eric B.



Innominate Man

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2406
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #3 on: 23:24:25, 26/02/19 »
jumbob, (You sure, with a name like that, you ain't a Good Ol' Boy from Alabama? Tennessee? Georgia?)


Maybe a long distant cuz' of  Billybob (as seen in The Green Mile)  ;D
Fortunate you mentioned 'Good Ol Boys' - can you explain to an ignorant Brit (me) how or why the term is used: I think I know the type of person it refers to but I may be way off the mark.
I first became aware of the phrase in the early 70s from Don McLean's song ...... no title necessary.
Only a hill but all of life to me, up there between the sunset and the sea. 
Geoffrey Winthrop Young

Litehiker

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #4 on: 01:19:47, 27/02/19 »
Innominate,
The best definition I can give you about a Good Ol' Boy is this:


Q. What's the difference between a Good Ol' Boy and s redneck?


A. A Good Ol' Boy throws his McDonald's wrappers and beer cans on the floor of his pickup.
A redneck throws it out the window. (We have a redneck for a president, BTW.)


Eric B. ;o)

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12715
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #5 on: 07:19:36, 27/02/19 »
I like that  :)


Guess I'm a Good Ol' Boy then - but sadly, even here in the remote Orkney Islands, we have our share of Rednecks - I often pick up bottles and wrappers from the side of the road whilst walking the dog.


Back to modifying equipment - I do sometimes make small changes to gear, a hanging loop in an ebay tent being a recent example, but I tend to do so with a light touch. Quite handy and willing with a needle and thread when it comes to repairing stuff though!
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

astaman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 166
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #6 on: 07:54:55, 27/02/19 »
I make a point of sewing a spare button on to the waste band of my walking trousers. I don't always wear a belt and there's nothing less dignified or difficult than doing a hard descent with one hand holding on to your trousers.


Richard, we too have rednecks in Shetland. There was time when the red Mcewans beer tins were colloquially known as 'Shetland Roses'. We have community clear ups of the verges and ditches called 'redd ups' to pick up the trash - or pick up after the trash maybe.

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12715
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #7 on: 08:04:36, 27/02/19 »
We have 'Bag the Bruck' here in Orkney too - the local schools get involved and shift a huge amount of plastic off the beaches.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

fernman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4529
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #8 on: 08:54:54, 27/02/19 »
I did a few`mods on my tent in the first 18 months after I got it, mostly ideas copied from the net. These included changing the guys for dyneema, with better sliders, replacing the tape zip pulls with brightly coloured dyneema, fixing a guy to the door so that it can be held open over a walking pole, and removing some superfluous plastic fasteners.

My backpack has had badges removed, surplus strap lengths shortened and a couple of extra straps added to the lid.

Then there was the treatment of the underside of my self-inflating mat with anti-slip spray, that I mentioned in another post recently.

Innominate Man

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2406
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #9 on: 10:54:39, 27/02/19 »
......... (We have a redneck for a president, BTW.)



 ;D   ;D  ..... Cheers Eric, you are lucky - we have a democratic parliamentary fiasco   O0
Only a hill but all of life to me, up there between the sunset and the sea. 
Geoffrey Winthrop Young

phil1960

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2993
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #10 on: 14:43:58, 27/02/19 »
We don’t have rednecks or good ol’ Boys here in the Welsh valleys, quite a few lunatics and roiders though  ::)
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

Litehiker

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
Re: Modding my new down mountain parka
« Reply #11 on: 15:59:05, 27/02/19 »
Fernman,


Like you I have modded my tents.
I've modded both my Tarptent Moment DW solo tent and my TT SCARP 2 by running shortened crossing poles beneath the fly instead of outside as originally designed. Makes the fly much more resistant fo wind and snow load. I've also added 4 fly hem stake loops on each tent (2 on each side) to prevent flapping in high winds. Necessary for a good night's sleep. Now Tarptent puts these stake loops on several tents as standard items and on all tents at the buyer's request.


To see my Moment DW modifications go to the "Backpacking Light" site and in the general GEAR forum it is the 1st post on "The Tarptent Thread".


For photos of my SCARP 2 on BPL go to the "Winter Hiking forum and to the "Winterizing My SCARP 2" thread.


Eric B.

 

Terms of Use     Privacy Policy